Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King’s discharge petition, aimed at repealing Obamacare, is gaining momentum in the House as more representatives sign on.

Today Rep. Tom Price, Georgia Republican and chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) is circulating a request that members support the petition. To date 80 representatives — all Republicans — have affixed their names to the document which, if a majority sign, would force House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring King’s bill, H.R. 4972 “To repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” to the floor for an up-or-down vote. If a majority sign the petition it is likely that King’s bill will pass, as those who sign will vote for his repeal.

King is urging the 34 Democrats who voted against the health-care legislation to sign onto the petition. He was enthusiastic about the support his motion has received.

“I am optimistic that we will be able to attract the 218 signatures we will need to force a vote on repealing ‘Obamacare.’ The past week has seen significant momentum building for repeal,” King said. “Signatures on the discharge petition have come more quickly than I had expected. This has been partly due to a large number of co-sponsors on the repeal bill, but it also demonstrates the effectiveness of the efforts of the Heritage Action Team and a boost from the Club for Growth. I have asked for a national cooperative effort by all organizations interested in restoring liberty by repealing ‘Obamacare.’”

Heritage Action for America is a new conservative advocacy spin-off group launched by the Heritage Foundation earlier this year. King’s discharge petition is its first national campaign. The Club for Growth, a free-market 527 group, has been supportive of the effort as well.

“The Club has played a leading role in working to make sure this ill-conceived, over-reaching law gets fully repealed, allowing lawmakers to start over with something that will actually lower costs and reduce the size of government. This petition will force the House to act in that direction. This will be considered as a key vote on the Club’s annual congressional scorecard” said Andrew Roth, director of government affairs for the Club.

The aforementioned request memo, sent out by the executive director of the RSC, Paul S. Teller, notes that several high-ranking House members already have put their names on the petition, “including Leader Boehner, Whip Cantor, Conference Chairman Pence, other members of leadership, and dozens of other Republicans (RSC and non-RSC).”